A rose by any other name I have always hated my first name, positively loathed it. Growing up in the 80s, all I wanted to be was a Melissa, a Jennifer, or a Lisa (like my sister). I wanted to be able to buy personalized useless trinkets and souvenirs with
Road to nowhere The 40-minute drive to Panzano in Chianti soothed my worries and agitation like a mystical balm. As the urban chaos gave way to the soft green hills of the Chianti, I was one of very few drivers on the road. I felt the tension leave my body,
Casting Call This is the first in a series of entries I’ll be writing about my recent experience being cast as a local expert in a new reality tv show that spotlights four of Italy’s most beautiful and beloved locales: Taormina, Lago di Garda, Napoli and the Chianti (my episode),
A typical Italian high schooler’s stack of books. Dictionaries not pictured. Back to School, il rientro/ritorno a scuola First things first, back to school happens later here in Italy than in the majority of US States. While I write this, Florence is fairly empty, there is little traffic, and
Road Trip! “Expatriates voluntarily live in an alien country, usually for personal or social reasons. Hemingway and Fitzgerald were not forced to live in France. Expatriates may share in the solitude and estrangement of exile, but they do not suffer under its rigid proscriptions.” Edward W. Said, Reflections on Exile I
Italian tennis champion, Jasmine Paolini, celebrates a recent victory Pickleball fans, do not despair! As I told a few pickleball enthusiasts in an online discussion group who were convinced that the sport had not yet made its way across the Atlantic, if you are planning on coming to Italy, you
Music, especially live music, is a big passion of mine, so when June comes around and I smell summer in the air, all I can think about are concerts and festivals. Italy is synonymous with music and the country hosts some of the best music festivals, artists, and concerts in
I recently read a great article in *The Times about a Pier Paolo Pasolini and Pasolini-film-inspired journey through Italy and I fell in love with the idea because it is exactly the kind of bespoke cultural experience, tailored around one’s passions and loves, that I encourage my clients to embrace.
Earth Month Special Feature 🌳 This strikingly beautiful city, the cradle of the Renaissance, might very well be experiencing a second Renaissance or, at the very least, it’s making mighty efforts to rebrand itself. Always an exceedingly popular tourist destination, Florence has never had problems drawing visitors from the world
